Hybrid connector and right angle female member and male member thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates, in general, to an improvement of a hybrid connector, and a right angle female member and male members therefor. A male member (11) comprises a projection pin (11a) formed to at one end and having a driver slot formed therein, and a flange (11b) and a screw hole (11c) formed at the other end, the flange having teeth It formed thereon. Also, the other male member (12) comprises a screw portion (12a) provided at one end lie and threadedly engaged with a screw hole (11c) of the male member (11), a projection pin (12b) provided at the other end and having a driver slot formed therein, and a flange (12c) provided between the screw portion (12a) and the projection pin (12b). A right angle female member (13) comprises a body portion, (13a) having six legs (13a 1 ), a rectangular rod shaped body (13a 2 ), and a plug portion receiving hole (13a 3 ) formed through the body portion, and a cylindrical hollow plug portion (13b) having a first end (13b 1 ) for fitting into the plug portion receving hole (13a 3 ), a second end (13b 2 ) in which a projection pin of a male member for a hybrid connector is fitted, and a flange portion (13b 3 ) formed between the first and second ends. A hybrid connector is constituted by a suitable combination of the first and second male members (11 and 12) and the right angle female member (13) and provides for improved electrical passages which will enable large quantities of current to flow through them.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to a improvement of a hybridconnector, and a right angle female member and the male memberstherefor.

Generally, hybrid connectors are used as a connector for supplying powerand data in electronic exchangers and data transmitting systems fortelecommunication. In systems such as an electronic exchanger, a motherboard and a daughter boards with various circuits and operating elementsare provided, and a plurality of daughter boards are vertically mountedon the front face of the mother board, whereas the mother board hasmeans for connecting the circuits on the mother board to the circuits onthe rear face. In general, supplying power to a system such as anelectronic exchanger is accomplished by conductive passages from a powersupply to a daughter board, then from the daughter board to a motherboard, and then from the mother board to another daughter board oranother mother board. In order to supply power from the power supply tothe mother board and the daughter board and therebetween, hybridconnectors in the form as shown in FIG. 1 are used.

The conventional type of hybrid connector 1 comprises a plug-to-plugcoupler type male member 3 having a pair of projection pins mounted toproject from opposite surfaces of the mother board, a pair of housing 4to secure and support the male member 3 to the mother board 2, a rightangle female member 6 secured onto the daughter board 5, a housing 7 forsecuring and supporting the right angle female member 6 onto thedaughter board 5, a crimp-to-wire receptacle female member 8 receiving awire connected to another mother board and fitted onto the male member3, a housing 9 for supporting the female member 8. As a result of thisconstruction, the supplies of power from the mother board 2 to thedaughter board 5 and the other mother board are accomplished by aconductive passage extending from the printed circuitry conductorprovided on a hole of the mother board 2 through a flange 3a, to thebody of the male member 3 connected with the printed circuitryconductor, to the right angle female member 6 connected to one end ofthe male member 3, to the leg 6a₁ of the female member 6, and to theprinted circuitry on the daughter board 5, and by another conductivepassage extending to a printed circuitry on the other mother boardthrough crimp-to-wire receptacle female member 8 connected to the otherend of the male member 3, respectively. Each housing 4, 7 and 9 isconstructed such that the housing 4 supporting the male member 3 isfitted with the other housings 7 and 8 to provide firm interconnectionstherebetween.

These conventional hybrid connectors contain following drawbacks:

(1) The plug-to-plug coupler type male member 3 is provided as a unitarybody and protrudes from opposite surfaces of the mother board. In casewhere only one of the supplies of power is required from either themother board 2 to the other mother board or from the mother board 2 tothe daughter board 5, one of the protruded portions is unnecessary, thusresulting in dissipation of materials and loosing of space which canotherwise be used for mounting other parts.

(2) The male member 3 needs a pair of housings which must be mountedonto the mother board 2 and sometimes needs soldering.

(3) Although the electric connection between the male member 3 and themother board 2 is accomplished by the printed circuitry conductorsprovided both on the generally cylindrical flange portion 3a which ispositioned at the intermediate point of the male member 3 and on theholes of the mother board 2, this connecting method requires solderingin order to avoid a poor electrical connection between the flange andthe printed circuit.

(4) As shows in detail in FIG. 1A, when the right angle female member 6is assembled by press-fit of plug portion 6b machined from a cylindricalrod member into a body portion having four legs 6a₁, a plug receivinghole 6a₂ and a first end portion 6b₁ to be inserted therein should bemachined with high accuracy since the plug receiving hole 6a₂ of thebody portion 6a is a blind hole.

(5) Method for manufacturing the plug portion 6b to be fitted by themale member 3 comprises the complicated steps of forming the male memberreceiving hole 6a₂ by drilling and outer surface lathing the cylindricalrod member simultaneously, and forming and machining five steppedportions between a ring receiving portion 6b₃ to receive a ring 10 forsecuring the female member 6 to the housing 7 and the portion to befitted into the plug receiving hole 6a₂.

(6) Although the right angle female member 6 has four legs 6a₁ formaking an electrical connection between the daughter board 5 and theright angle female member 6, more legs are needed in order to make amore than four electrical circuitry. Therefore, it is an object of thepresent invention to solve the problems as mentioned above and toprovide a male member for a hybrid connector which can be assembled soas to supply power from a mother board to another mother board or adaughter board, as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a male member and a rightangle female member which can achieve a good electrical connection tothe mother board and the daughter board.

Another object of the invention is to provide a right angle femalemember which can be manufactured more simply.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hybrid connectorcomprising the male member and the right angle female member asmentioned above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Such objects of the present invention can be accomplished by providing afirst male member comprising a projection pin formed at one end andhaving a driver slot formed therein and a flange and a screw hole formedat the other end, the flange having teeth formed thereon; a second malemember comprising a screw portion provided at one end and threadedlyengaged with the screw hole of the first male member, a projection pinprovided at the other end and having a driver slot formed therein, and aflange provided between the screw portion and the projection pin; aright angle female member comprising a body portion having six legs, arectangular rod shaped body, and a plug portion receiving hole formedthrough the body, and a cylindrical hollow plug portion having a firstend for fitting into the plug portion receiving hole, a second end inwhich the projection pin of the male member for a hybrid connector isfitted, and a flange portion formed between first and second ends,respectively; and by providing a hybrid connector being adapted forcombining and connecting the above members and a crimp-to-wirereceptacle female member to which a outer power source is connected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional hybrid connector.

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a right angle female member of theconventional hybrid connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a right angle female member and a firstand a second male member which form a hybrid connector according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how the mounting of the first andthe second male member onto a mother board is made in order toillustrate the way of using the male members of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the right angle female member of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be explained in more detail by way of an example withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the first and second male members 11, 12 and a right anglefemale member 13 for a hybrid connector according to the presentinvention are shown.

The first male member 11 comprises a projection pin 11 a formed at oneend which differs from the known male member 3 as shown in FIG. 1, and aflange 11b formed at the other end. The flange 11b has teeth formedthereon, so that if the flange is mounted into a mounting hole of aprinted circuit board which is a mother board or a daughter board asshown in FIG. 4, the teeth are tightly fitted into and firmly engagedwith a printed circuit conductor being provided within the mountinghole. This results in an improved electrical connection as compared withan electrical connection which is achieved by merely press-fitting theflange 3a of the conventional male member 3 as shown in FIG. 1 into themounting hole of the printed circuit board. Also, the end of the firstmale member 11 which is provided with the flange 11b, is formed with ascrew hole 11c so that a screw portion 12a of the second male member 12or a screw 14 shown in FIG. 3 is threadedly engaged therein as will beexplained below. As shown in FIG. 3, since the first male member 11according to the invention is firmly engaged with the mounting hole ofthe mother board 2, which is a printed circuit board, by means of theflange 11b having teeth to obtain a good electrical connection,additional soldering is not needed for an electrical connection orfixation. The projection pin 11a of the first male member is formed witha driver slot 11d so that when using the screw 14 or when used togetherwith the second male member 12, the first male member 11 can be fixed bya screw driver.

The second male member 12 comprises a screw portion 12a provided at oneend and threadedly engaged with the screw hole 11c of the first malemember 11, a projection pin 12b provided at the other end, and a flange12c provided therebetween. The projection pin 12b of the second malemember has a driver slot 12d formed therein to be used for the case whenthe second male member is threadedly engaged with the first male member.

With reference to FIG. 3, the state of the first and second male members11,12 being mounted to the mother board 2 will be explained.

Firstly, if the flange 11b of the first male member 11 is tightly fittedinto the mounting hole of the mother board 2 being provided with theprinted circuit conductor, the teeth formed on the flange 11b and theprinted circuit conductor can be engaged and connected with each other,thereby obtaining an improved electrical connection and a greater fixingforce between the first male member 11 and the hole as compared with theflange 3a of the conventional male member 3 as shown in FIG. 1 which ismerely pressfitted with the printed circuit conductor. After the firstmale member 11 is fixed to the mother board 2, as described above, ahousing 4 is mounted to the first male member 11. The construction thatthe first male member 11 is mounted to the housing 4 by an O-ring iswell-known and, therefore, a detailed explanation is omitted. In thisstate, if a washer 17 and the screw 14 are mounted to the first malemember 11, the electrical connection between the printed circuitconductor and the first male member 11 as well as the fixing force ofthe first male member 11 to the mother board 2 are greatly enhancedsince the mounting hole of the mother board 2 is commonly provided witha printed circuit conductor coating at the entire inner and theperiphery thereof. While a very troublesome working such as solderingshould be applied to the conventional male member 3 for obtaining asufficient fixing and electrical connection to the mother board 2, asshown in FIG. 1, the fixing and electrical connection of the first malemember, according to the invention, can be enhanced by simply threadedlyengaging with the screw 14 to which the washer 17 is mounted.

If the right angle female member 13, which is mounted to the daughterboard 5, is connected to the first male member 11 being mounted by thescrew 14, as mentioned above, it is possible to supply power from themother board 2 to the daughter board 5, whereas, if the first malemember 11 is mounted to the opposite side of the mother board 2, it ispossible to supply power from the mother board 2 through a conventionalcrimp-to-wire receptacle female member 8 to another mother board. Also,when a separate power supply is needed, a separate power circuit can beconstituted by inserting and mounting a power bus bar 16 between themale member 11 and the screw 14.

In the above descriptions, a power passage from the mother board 2 tothe daughter board 5 or from the daughter board 5 to the mother board 2along with a separate power passage are described, but it is possible tosupply power in two directions, from the mother board 2 to anothermother board and the daughter board 5 simultaneously if the second malemember 12, in place of the screw 14, is threadedly engaged with thefirst male member 11. Also, it is possible to provide a separate powerpassage by using a power bus bar 16. Therefore, the invention has anadaptability to provide three power passages, if necessary, by asuitable combination of the first and second male members 11, 12 and thepower bus bar 16, according to the present invention. Also, the firstmale member 11 can be mounted at any place on the male member 2 ordaughter board 5. Since the electrical connection ability and mountingability are excellent, large quantities of current can flow throughthem.

As shown in a sectional view of FIG. 4, a right angle female member 13comprises a body portion 13a mounted on the daughter board 5 which is aprinted circuit board, a plug portion 13b having an end for fitting intoand fixing to the body portion 13a and another end forming a plug inwhich a projection pin of the first male member 11 is fitted. The bodyportion 13a comprises six legs 13a₁ on the lower portion thereofpenetrated in daughter board 5 and electrically connected with theprinted circuit, a rectangular rod shaped body 13a₂, and a plug portionreceiving hole 13a₃ in which one end of the plug portion 13b is mountedin the body portion. The hole 13a₃ is provided with a step forpreventing the end of the plug portion 13b from projecting outwards fromthe hole when the end is press-fitted with the hole. The plug portion13b is substantially shaped as a hollow sleeve, and comprises a firstend 13b₁ for fitting into the plug portion receiving hole 13a₃ of thebody portion 13a, a second end 13b₂ in which the projection pin of thefirst male member 11 is fitted, and a flange portion 13b₃ formed betweensaid first and second ends. The plug portion 13b, according to thepresent invention, is not provided with a ring receiving portion forreceiving a ring 10, which is different from that of the conventionalright angle female member as shown in FIG. 1. However, if necessary, itis possible to provide a ring receiving portion for receiving the ring10 on the right angle female member 13. In the case of the conventionalright angle female member 6, as shown in FIG. 1A, the first end 6b,fitted into the body portion 6a is comprised of four portions, and theplug portion receiving hole 6a₂ of the body portion 6a and the first end6b₁ should be machined with a high accuracy so that they can be easilyassembled and fixed firmly. However, in the case of the right anglefemale member 13 of the present invention, since it is not necessary tomachine the flange portion 13b₃ of the plug portion 13b separately, onlyfour portions need to be machined. In the case of the right angle femalemember 13 of the present invention, two machining processes includingone machining process for the ring receiving portion are omitted whencompared with that of the conventional right angle female member.

Of course, if the right angle female member 13 of the present inventionis provided with a ring receiving portion, only one machining process isless than the machining processes for the conventional right anglefemale member, especially, since the conventional right angle femalemember 6 is only assembled by press fitting, the body portion and theplug portion can be fixed in case the right angle female member 6 has ahigh machining accuracy. However, since the plug portion 13 of theinvention penetrates through the body portion and is shaped like ahollow tube, the plug portion can be fixed more firmly to the bodyportion by expanding the diameter of the plug portion at the portion inwhich the plug portion 13b is fitted into the body portion, ifnecessary. Therefore, even if the right angle female member 13 of thepresent invention is not machined with a high accuracy as the conventionone, the body portion 13a and the plug portion 13b can be fixed firmlytogether. In addition, the manufacturing process thereof can be reducedand easily made. Since the plug portion 13b of the right angle femalemember of the invention is shaped like a tube and fixed by penetratingit through the body portion 13a, the weight thereof is light whencompared with the conventional right angle female member 6 of which onlythe male member receiving hole 6b₂ is shaped like a tube. Therefore, thepresent invention contributes by reducing the weight of the system.

It is understood that the connection features and the mounting positionsof the male members 11 and 12 and the right angle female member 13 for ahybrid connector of the present invention, as described in the above,can vary in accordance with the constitutions and objects of a system,such as an electronic exchanger and etc. That is, since the projectionpin size of both male members 11 and 12 are the same they can beconnected with any one of the crimp-o-wire receptacle female member 8and the right angle female member 13. Also, the male members 11 ard 12and the right angle female member 13 can be mounted on any one of themother board 2 and the daughter board 5.

What is claimed is:
 1. A male member for a hybrid connector used forsupplying a system power to a printed circuit board, comprising:aprojection pin (11a) having a tip formed at one end and having a driverslot formed in said tip, the driver slot is adapted to facilitateinsertion of male into the printed circuit board; and a flange (11b) anda screw hole (11c) formed at the other end, the flange having teethformed thereon, whereby no solder is required to attach the connector tothe Printed circuit board.
 2. A male member used in combination with themale member according to claim 1, comprising;a screw portion (12a)provided at one end and threadedly engaged and in electrical contactwith a screw hole (11c) in the male member (11); a projection pin (12b)provided at the other end and having a driver slot formed therein; and aflange (12c) provided between said screw portion (12a) and saidprojection pin (12b).
 3. A right angle female member for a hybridconnector used for supplying a system power to a printed circuit board,comprising;a body portion (13a) having six legs (13a₁), a rectangularrod shaped body (13a₂) and a plug portion receiving hole (13a₃) formedthrough said body; and a tubular cylindrical hollow plug portion (13b)having a first end (13b₁) for fitting into said plug portion receivinghole (13a₃), a second end (13b₂) in which a projection pin of a malemember for a hybrid connector is fitted, and a flange portion (13b₃)formed between said first and second ends.
 4. A hybrid connector usedfor supplying a system power to a printed circuit board, comprising;amale member (11) comprising a projection pin (11a) formed at one end andhaving a driver slot formed therein, and a flange (11b) and a screw hole(11c) formed at the other end, the flange having teeth formed thereon,whereby no solder is required to attach the connector to the solderboard; a male member (12) comprising a screw portion (12a) provided atone end and threadedly engaged and in electrical contact with a screwhole (11c) of the male member (11), a projection pin (12b) provided atthe other end and having a driver slot formed therein, and a flange(12c) provided between said screw portion (12a) and said projection pin(12b); and a right angle female member (13) comprising a body portion(13a) having six legs (13a₁), a rectangular rod shaped body (13a₂), anda plug portion receiving hole (13a₃) formed through said body, and atubular cylindrical hollow plug portion (13b) having a first end (13b)for fitting into said plug portion receiving hole (13a₃), a second end(13b₂) in which the projection pin of the male member for a hybridconnector is fitted, and a flange portion (13b₃) formed between saidfirst and second ends.